Liverpool’s Premier League title charge continues despite a tension filled 2-1 victory over Sunderland at Anfield on Wednesday.

It took the Reds almost 45 minutes to break down a stubborn Sunderland side, but their inspirational captain Steven Gerrard curled in a tremendous free kick just before the interval to ease any nerves around from the Kop.

Moments after half time Daniel Sturridge scored a sublime curler for his 20th PL goal of the season — he and Suarez are only the third strike duo in league history to score over 20 goals each in the same campaign — as the Englishman then went close to a third after rattling the crossbar.

To their credit Sunderland kept battling away and the arrival of Adam Johnson and Ki off the bench pepped up the Black Cats, with Ki pulling a goal back in the 75th minute to leave the Liverpool faithful on their edge of their seats for the final minutes.

However Brendan Rodgers’ men held on for their seventh-straight win to go second in the standings, as they now sit just one point behind leaders Chelsea. As for Sunderland, they are still in the relegation zone and are three points from safety with a game in hand.

A strangely subdued start played out at Anfield, as Sunderland’s five-man defense easily thwarted Liverpool’s early advances. The Black Cats barely threatened going forward, as U.S. international Jozy Altidore and recalled loan striker Connor Wickham cut frustrated figures up top for the away side.

Midway through the first half Liverpool started to come to life, as their superior possession began to pay dividends. However Glen Johnson and Joe Allen both fired way over from the edge of the box, as the Reds started to snatch at any chance that fell their way.

For the rest of the first half Liverpool kept hold of the ball but struggled to carve out many clear openings, as the home fans started to voice their discontent with several sloppy passes beginning to pepper the Reds’ play. But then in the 39th minute captain fantastic himself turned up to put Liverpool ahead, as Santiago Vergini scythed down Luis Suarez and a free kick was award right on the edge of the ‘d’. Vergini could’ve easily been sent off for the tackle on Suarez, as he looked to be last man, but referee Kevin Friend only dished out a yellow.

Gerrard bent in Liverpool’s first with a superb free kick.

From the resulting set piece Gerrard curled in a stunning effort to score his 11th PL goal of the season to lift the tension at Anfield as the home side went in 1-0 up at the break.

Within three minutes of the restart Liverpool were 2-0 up, as Sturridge showed exactly why he’s one of the hottest strikers in European soccer. The England international received the ball on the right hand side of the box, shifted it onto his left foot and the curled in an unstoppable shot into the top corner to add another stunner with his 25th goal of the season.

Liverpool’s swagger returned after that goal, as a marauding Philippe Coutinho helped set up Sturridge moments later but the Liverpool striker saw his goalbound shot blocked… by his own strike partner Suarez, as the Uruguayan international couldn’t get out of the way.

The home side were now well on top, as Suarez picked up Gerrard’s cross-field superbly and then cut inside of Vergini’s lackluster challenge before rifling a shot just past the far post. Sunderland brought on Adam Johnson and Ki to try and breathe impetus into their attack, but the away team barely threatened as they were outplayed, out-possessed and out-battled by a hungry Liverpool side.

However Sunderland did improve as the game wore on, with Lee Cattermole clattering the crossbar courtesy of a controlled slice from the edge of the box, then Ki skied the rebound. Moments later it was Sturridge’s turn to hammer the woodwork, as the 24-year-old curled a delightful right-footed effort towards the top corner but he also smashed the bar.

In the 76th minute Sunderland pulled a goal back, as Ki knocked home after a corner from the right found the South Korean unmarked in the box. In fairness it was no more than the away team deserved, as Poyet’s men stuck to the task and took the game to Liverpool in the closing stages.

Late on a vicious inswinging free kick from the left was headed towards goal by John O’Shea, but U.S. international striker Altidore was crashing in behind him and would’ve been better placed to seal an unlikely equalizer.

As it was the Reds thwarted Sunderland’s late rally, as the Merseyside club remain in the hunt for their first-ever PL crown. Be wanred Liverpool fans: there will be plenty more nervous nights like this in the coming weeks.

And for the first time in his life, he thinks Barca is a step behind its El Clasico enemies. From The Telegraph:

“This is a long process and there is room for improvement but in the nine years that I have been here, it is the first time that I feel inferior to Madrid,” Piqué said. “We are not in the best moment, either as a team or as a club. We must stay as close as possible and keep moving forwards.”

Barcelona looked very poor in the second leg of the Super Cup, though the club did hammer the woodwork on multiple occasions. Real is the best team in the world, which makes being its rival a real hassle.

In fact, both clubs have been 1-2 in the world for some time, which has to make it extra perplexing when you’re No. 2 to only the club you despise more than any other.

“Naturally, nobody is happy about not playing international this year,” center back Benedikt Howedes told ProSoccerTalk. “During the week we currently have more time to focus on the next opponent. We will battle the European positions with many teams this season. I think, the race is up in the air. The Bundesliga is very balanced.”

Schalke’s tumulutous 2016-17 season started poorly and never really found its footing. The club lost its first five league matches under Markus Weinzierl, who was fired in June, and saw marquee transfers Naldo, Breel Embolo, and Coke miss a lot of time through injuries.

In the case of Nastasic, who won the Premier League with Manchester City in 2013-14, his 24 years carry a lot of experience. He’s thrived at Fiorentina, become a staple of the Serbian national team, and rebounding from his injury-hit time at City and is a leader at Schalke.

And those young guys can learn from Nastasic, who’s seen it all at 24.

“When I just arrived in Italy I was only 18 and it was the first year out of my country,” Nastasic told PST. “I didn’t expect at the beginning that I would play that much. Then I changed to England, and it was totally different. Italy is more tactical. Football in England is physical with a lot of tempo and running. I was young also without so much experience but when I was fit I think I played good.”

Schalke will need its young attack to find more goals. Its defense was Top Five in goals conceded last season, but its 45 goals was mid-table.

“Everyone knows that last season was not as good as we had expected,” Howedes said. “With our new coach, we want to improve our game and make our fans happy again. We are training hard and I am sure, that we will be more constant and improve our performances this season.”

“From the team I expect a much better season than last year,” Nastasic adds. “We are not playing international games so maybe that’s an advantage for us. We can concentrate on the Bundesliga.”

Both Nastasic and Howedes heaped praise on McKennie, as well as American teammate Haji Wright, who will spend the season on loan to Sandhausen, and the game overseas in general.

“Haji Wright started spectacular,” Howedes said. “For young players the most important thing is to play. On loan in Sandhausen the chance is greater than here. I rejoice for him he get this opportunity. The step in the 2.Bundesliga can be a good beginning of his career.

“The American soccer is really developing the last years. It is no coincidence that a lot of great players like Kaka and Gerrard joined Major League Soccer. And who knows, I also can imagine to play there some day in the future.”

Different champs (but probably not different champs): Bayern Munich will neither have Xabi Alonso nor Philipp Lahm this season, but that doesn’t mean they are runaway favorites to claim its 27th title and sixth-straight since Borussia Dortmund’s two-year reign ended with the 2011-12 crown. Carlo Ancelotti has reloaded with James Rodriguez and Corentin Tolisso, and will be favored to hold off BVB for the crown.

Here’s to the new Bosz: USMNT phenom Christian Pulisic is already making an impact in the mind of his new coach, Peter Bosz, and the manager will be pleased to note that reports say Pulisic has no interest in looking into his future until after the 2018 World Cup.

Sleepers? Eintracht Frankfurt dropped into 11th last season, and may benefit from not finishing in a European place. The club has added Mexican national teamer Carlos Saucedo, Dutch star Jetro Willems, and well-traveled Jonathan De Guzman for its new season.

FC Barcelona wants to express its profound sorrow and utter disgust at the terrorist attack that has hit the heart of our city, la Rambla de Barcelona. The Club wishes to send our support and thoughts to the victims, their families and friends as well as the people of Barcelona and its visitors.

As a mark of respect, the flags will fly at half-mast at the Club’s facilities and the players from both teams will wear black armbands in all the Club’s matches this weekend.

On Sunday, before the 2017/18 La Liga opener against Betis, the Camp Nou will hold a minutes silence in recognition and memory of the victims.

AC Milan has reinforced its squad, Inter Milan has had some much-needed stability after four managerial changes last season, while Napoli looks set to mount an even stronger challenge this time around.

Lazio could also be surprise contenders after Simone Inzaghi’s side withstood a late comeback to beat Juventus 3-2 and win the Italian Super Cup on Wednesday.

However, Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri has warned the rest of Serie A that it will be a very different performance from his team in Saturday’s season opener at home to Cagliari.

“We cannot and must not play like that in the league,” he said. “This defeat brings us back to earth. Some of the players aren’t fully fit yet, so I knew it wasn’t going to be easy … but starting on Saturday you’ll see a different Juve.”

Allegri also took encouragement from the last time Juventus played Lazio in the Super Cup, in 2015.

“We beat Lazio in Beijing for the Super Cup two years ago and then had a bad start to the Serie A season, so hopefully we’ll do it the other way round this time,” he said.

Juventus has dominated Italian soccer for nearly a decade, winning three successive league and cup doubles and it will be tricky for anyone to prevent the Bianconeri from extending their league record to seven straight Serie A titles.

Milan was the last team other than Juventus to win the title and, despite having last finished in the top three in 2013, it looks the likeliest to depose the Turin-based club.

The Chinese-led consortium that purchased Milan from Silvio Berlusconi for $800 million in April has infused the club with cash and splashed out more than 200 million euros ($234 million) in the offseason.

Fourth place in Serie A now guarantees qualification to the Champions League and that will be the minimum requirement for Vincenzo Montella’s team. But, if the new team gels quickly, there is the feeling that Milan could make a strong challenge for the title.

Bonucci was playing down his new side’s chances.

“Juve remains favorite and Napoli has a great chance of fighting for the title,” Bonucci said in interview with Gazzetta dello Sport. “As we are now we’re still a step below both, but we shouldn’t put limits on ourselves. After those two, I see Milan, Inter and Roma as equal.”

Napoli has finished in the top three in four of the past five seasons but even a record number of points last campaign still left it third, five points behind Juventus.

However, talk of the `scudetto’ is no longer a taboo for Napoli, which hasn’t won the title since 1990.

But, while it didn’t make any big signings in the transfer window, its biggest success of the offseason has been in keeping its band of talented players together.

It sold Ezequiel Lavezzi in 2012 and Edinson Cavani the following year – both to Paris Saint-Germain – while Gonzalo Higuain moved to Juventus in 2016.

This year Dries Mertens and Lorenzo Insigne have signed new contracts, while Marek Hamsik is just three goals away from breaking Diego Maradona’s scoring record for the club.

Mertens was reportedly pursued by a number of clubs – both in Italy and abroad – but the Belgium international, who scored more than 30 goals for Napoli last campaign, opted to extend his stay with the southern side.

“I stayed here because the team plays very beautiful football and doing that we can get a lot of joy,” said Mertens, who scored again as Napoli beat Nice 2-0 in the first leg of its Champions League playoff on Wednesday.

Napoli played arguably the best soccer in Italy last season and its attacking flair saw it score 94 goals, but it faltered against teams in the lower half of the table and coach Maurizio Sarri is hoping to have corrected that by the time it kicks of its Serie campaign at Hellas Verona on Saturday.